Nessie's Journey
by ohmyedward01
Summary: This is Renesmee Cullen's story, approximately 50 years after the end of Breaking Dawn. Nessie just wanted to go to school like a normal teenager, but what she finds there will tell that Forks still isn't meant for the lighthearted.
1. Chapter 1: Persuasion

Chapter 1: Persuasion

"Come ON, Mom!" I persuaded. My teenage persuasion instincts kicked in, and my mom had already lost, and knew it too.  
"I just don't see how this is going to work out. You obviously can't go to Forks High!" my mother rebutted in horror. "Edward!" she yelled, even though if she whispered he would've heard her.  
My father appeared within a millisecond. "What is it, love?"  
"Have you HEARD what our all-of-a-sudden-crazy daughter wants to do?!" she yelled in outrage.  
But, as soon as I had thought of my plans about a week ago, my father had heard it in his own mind.  
"I have, actually," he chuckled to himself, "I don't see the problem—"  
"DON'T SEE THE PROBLEM?!!" my mother went crazy now as she shouted in anger.  
"Bella, Bella!" my dad said as he attempted to calm my mother down.  
"She hasn't even let me finish!" I complained as my high-pitched voice drowned out my mother's grouching. My teenage hormones did most of the work for me.  
By the time my mother had stopped grumbling to my dad, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice had gathered in the living room. Alice was smiling at me hugely, so I had a feeling I would win this argument in the end. After staring at my father for the longest time (pushing her shield onto him, I assumed), my mom glanced at Alice, saw the smile, and sighed half-heartedly in defeat. I smiled and turned to skip into the hall to find Jacob, but my mother stopped me before I took one step.  
"RENESMEE CARLIE CULLEN! Just because I know I lost, doesn't mean I know _why_!" she shouted at me.  
I sighed and turned to face my mom. I walked towards her at a normal pace, and touched my palm to her arm. I thought very specifically of my plan:  
_"I want to go to Forks High School as a junior, just to get the experience I've never gotten. Everyone from when you went there is gone—either dead or moved away. Please. This is something I really want to do, and I've really thought it out. Please, Mom."_  
I took my hand off of her arm and looked at her with the most pleading face I had. I knew she couldn't resist this.  
My mom, after staring and both me and my dad for what seemed like a lifetime, finally sighed in defeat. Alice and I grinned at each other, and Alice's grin hinted at something more. Suddenly, her smile stopped when her eyes glazed over, and when they returned to their normal golden state, she looked almost annoyed. I raised an eyebrow at her when I was sure my mom wasn't looking. She was too busy talking to my dad in her head to notice. My dad sighed, but wasn't unhappy. I didn't feel like being confused anymore, so I spoke up.  
"What's going on?" I directed my question to Alice, but my dad answered.  
"Well, Alice was planning on accompanying you to school, you know how high school fascinates her, and another hole entered her vision about thirty seconds ago," he explained.  
After that was said—as if on cue—every vampire in the room turned to look at the humongous reddish-brown wolf sleeping soundly on the living room floor.


	2. Chapter 2: Jacob Apprends

Chapter 2: Jacob Apprends

_*title note: "Apprends" is "learns" in French… when naming this chapter I had a strange urge to use my French vocabulary… xD*_

I watched Jacob's steady breathing for precisely 132 of my quick, abnormal heartbeats.  
"Ness. Wake him up. We need to talk to him about this," my dad said as calmly as possible.  
I took a deep breath and shook as hard as I could into the deep, reddish-brown fur of my best friend. His eyes opened at once, and he smiled his wolfy grin at me as he trotted out the door to change. My dad ended up throwing him a pair of pants, seeing as Jacob apparently forgot them inside. He returned half dressed and grinning, as usual.  
"What's up?" He asked as he drifted towards me.  
"Ugh! Put a SHIRT on!" Rosalie hissed in disgust.  
Jacob's grin widened as he made no attempt to change his wardrobe. "I'll make you a deal," he started, as he advanced towards the gorgeous, blonde vampire, "I'll put a shirt on while you try and change that light bulb over there all by yourself!" He nagged as he used a voice fit for toddlers.  
Emmett had to hold Rosalie back while I rolled my eyes and hit Jacob on the arm. The gesture didn't even make him flinch, of course. His stance remained strong and protective, but after Emmett dragged Rosalie out of the room, he relaxed. Now, instead of trying to draw out the story, I chose to abruptly blurt out the news. (This probably wasn't the best choice, now that I think about it.)  
"I'm going to school!" I said happily. My decision was so quick, that I didn't see either my dad or Alice shaking their heads frantically at me. "Oops..." I muttered as I watched Jacob start to shake with rage.  
"Renesmee, go over there." My father pointed to the other side of the room.  
I obeyed, and started to back away, but Jake protested.  
"No. I'm in control. I'm fine." He said calmly. He took a deep breath, but his hands were still shaking. We all kept very still, and after I was sure the shaking had stopped, I slowly approached him.  
He turned to face me. "You're going _where_?" he asked. I sighed and pressed my palm to his bicep. By the time I had finished, he was grinning. "I'm going." He said confidently. "I can be your cousin, and Alice can be your sister."  
I smiled, but only my dad and I knew what was actually running through my head, _"Lord, help me!"_ My dad let out a small snort, and everyone looked at him, wondering whose thoughts he was laughing at. He looked to the ground, thank god, as to not give me away.  
"Renesmee," my father started in his perfect, early 1900s tone, "would you like to go for a run with me?"  
"'Kay." I said, turning to Jacob, "I'll be back soon."  
"I'll be waiting," he whispered, kissing my hair.  
As I walked past my mom, I pressed my palm to her shoulder and thought _"KEEP HIM HERE"_ sternly. She gave a tiny nod, and I followed my dad out the back door and across the lake.


	3. Chapter 3: The Prairie

Chapter 3: The Prairie

I had to work in order to keep pace with my dad. He was the fastest vampire I had ever seen in all my decades. He darted through the trees so fast that you couldn't even see him. Finally, after about ten minutes of high speed running, we were approaching a small clearing in the multiple acre forest behind our home. Even though I was half vampire, running still took some physical work. I was breathing heavier than usual by the time we had stopped.  
"So..." I prompted, waiting for him to start the conversation.  
"Shhh!" He said suddenly. I held my breath; waiting for him to relax. He listened carefully for another moment, and then relaxed his stance.  
"What was that for?" I asked, confused. I knew I didn't have to speak out loud to have a conversation with him, but I knew doing so made him feel a little more normal.  
"I was listening to see if they would be able to hear us. Don't worry; there is no possible way of that happening." He reassured me.  
"Okay." I replied as I looked around the open prairie. It had been a long time since I'd been somewhere so open, so free. I longed to just leap and cartwheel around the field.  
"What's stopping you?" My dad asked as he challenged my thoughts.  
I bit my lip. I didn't have a good answer for that, so I walked a couple steps and did a one-handed cartwheel across the open space. I stood up and smiled. I loved the feeling of it. I took another couple steps and did an aerial-- a no-handed cartwheel. It was even more exhilarating than the first. After doing a few more, I stopped to look at my dad. He was just standing there, grinning.  
"When you were younger, Alice and Rose went through a phase where they would show you all sorts of ballet videos like The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Then they would stop the tape and ask you to replicate what you saw. I felt bad for you, but it was amusing how you amazed them by doing the moves exactly right every time." My dad recalled.  
I grinned. I remembered exactly what he was talking about, and even though it got a little annoying at times, everyone knew how I loved to dance around the mansion. But, as I got older and kept getting taller, it was a little harder to move like that when my long limbs ran into things every time I tried to get my groove on. I sighed quietly as I walked back towards my dad and sat on the damp green floor.  
My dad sat down next to me. "I know that you are excited to go to school, and I'm excited for you. High School is an experience no one should have to miss. But, I'm a little worried about Jacob."  
"Join the club." I muttered. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love him. But sometimes he can be wayyy too overprotective."  
My dad chuckled quietly. "I'm going to agree with you on that one." He then sighed quietly. "Your mom wanted me to bring you out here so I can go over some... precautions with you about the whole experience."  
My face lit up. "So she's really accepted it?! She's letting me go?!" I beamed in happiness.  
"Yes, yes, calm down." He grinned. "So here's your story." His face got more serious. "Your name is Renesmee Wolfe; feel free to encourage people to call you Nessie, if you wish. Your--"  
"Wait," I cut him off, "Why do I need a new last name?"  
"Well, just extra precautions- you never know if a great-grandchild of someone who was there when your mother and I were there has heard stories about 'The Cullens'" He put the name in quotation marks with his hands as he chuckled.  
"Oh." I let him continue.  
"Okay, so your parents will have to be Carlisle and Esme, considering your mom and I definitely look much too young to be your actual parents." He explained.  
"Will they have different names too?" I asked innocently.  
"Yes, I believe they chose Charlie and Renee, believe it or not." He smiled with grief in his eyes.  
I mirrored his expression, a lump rising in my throat. I swallowed loudly and nodded.  
"Alice will pose as your sister, you two look enough alike, and Jacob will have to be your cousin, but with the same last name." He continued telling me my cover story. "Until now, you have lived in Alaska and--"  
I cut him off again, "Then how is Jacob's skin so dark?"  
"He's half Native American." I wasn't sure if he had made that up on the spot or not.  
"Do they even have Native American's in Alaska?" I challenged.  
"They do now." He grinned, and went on. "In Alaska, you went to an advanced school, if anyone asks how you are so smart." He paused for a moment, scanning his mental list to see if he missed anything.  
"Am I going to be in the same classes as Alice and Jacob?" I asked.  
He chuckled. "Maybe. Probably. The school isn't big, so there's a good chance you'll have classes with them."  
"Hey, don't make fun of me. I don't know how these things work, remember?!" I scowled in annoyance.  
"Alice will drive you to school every day in the Volvo, it's the least conspicuous." He explained, and I knew that we were getting to the fine details that I could easily know last minute.  
"So when do I start?!" I asked excitedly.  
"When do you want to start?" He asked skeptically.  
"Tomorrow!" I begged.  
He laughed. "Well, we have to register you..."  
I stood up. "Then what are we doing sitting here?!"  
"Calm down, take a seat. Esme and your mother are taking care of it, and your first day will be Monday," he smiled.  
"Mom is supposed to be making sure Jacob doesn't escape her sight!" I complained as I sat in the grass.  
"Nessie, breathe." My dad couldn't suppress his grin. I could sense that there was more he needed to talk to me about.  
"What?" I asked my eyebrow raising.  
He sighed. "Well, at school, you are going to meet a lot of kids. And they are going to stare at you and they are going to talk to you. It's all part of the 'new girl in school' experience." My dad knew that I hadn't had a lot of experience with publicity. After all, I had pretty much sat in the mansion almost my entire life, with the exception of family vacations and such.  
"'Kay. So are we done then?" I was excited to get back to the house- maybe it would make Monday come that much faster.  
"Almost," he promised. "Ness, you know that compared to a human, you are gorgeous."  
"I'm human." I pressed, but I knew he meant full humans, like Charlie and Renee were, not half-humans, like me.  
"There will be boys who will talk to you, of this I am positive." He started explaining.  
"What are they going to talk to me about?" I asked innocently.  
I could see he was struggling to be patient with my innocence, but it's his own fault for it. "Just, try not to give out too much information about yourself, and be careful. Okay?"  
"Yup. I'll be careful. No worries." I flashed a wide grin at him.  
He sighed, "Okay now go back to your pup."  
I hated it when he called Jacob that. I rolled my eyes as ran off towards the house.


	4. Chapter 4: First Day

Chapter 4: First Day

_*Note: I realize that this chapter is freakishly long, and I apologize for any inconvenience or discomfort this may cause._

The following week passed in an excited blur. Alice took me shopping, Carlisle (under the name of Charlie Wolfe) applied for a job at the hospital, and we went over the cover story a thousand times, until, finally, it was Monday morning.  
"Nessie, wake up." My mother gently squeezed my shoulder. It was then when I realized what day it was.  
"It's Monday!" I squealed, beaming. After getting dressed in my Alice approved outfit and letting my perfect brown curls fall over my shoulders, I walked into our small living room, beaming.  
"Aww! You look so cute!" My mom snapped a picture with the digital camera my dad got her for Christmas. I rolled my eyes, but kept grinning. I just couldn't stop being happy! Jacob, however, wasn't as excited.  
"I can't believe I have to do this," he complained.  
"You don't have to! Really, it's ok. I have Alice!" I pressed. He looked confused, but I knew my plea wouldn't change his mind.  
"Come on, Alice is almost ready," my dad said.  
I sighed, gave my hair a final toss, and ran out the door behind my parents.

* * *

Arriving at Forks High was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. I had goosebumps, and Jacob, thinking I was cold, rubbed my arm. I didn't mention that they were from my nerves and not the temperature. We pulled into the lot for the Main Office, and I got out with big eyes, taking in everything around me.  
"Cool, isn't it?" Alice grinned as she slowly walked around the car to me. It took me a millisecond to remember why she wasn't moving at her normal speed. I nodded as we walked into the building.  
"Hello, dear. What can I do for you?" The kind receptionist asked with curiosity.  
Alice gave her a gorgeous smile. "I'm Alice Wolfe. My sister, cousin, and I just moved here. It's our first day, and I was hoping you would have our schedules." She raised her eyebrows.  
"Oh! Yes, yes, I remember seeing your registration forms." She dug around in a file cabinet for a moment, and pulled out a few pieces of paper. "Here are your schedules and a map for each of you. You will need to park in the student lot to the left," she smiled.  
"Thank you very much." Alice said as she took the papers from the receptionist's hands, being careful not to touch them.  
Once we got to the student lot, I stepped out of the car to one hundred pairs of eyes on me. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I turned away to wait for Alice and Jacob to get to my side of the car. As we walked for what seemed like an eternity to get to the building, I breathed, "Why are they staring at us?" So low that only Alice could hear.  
She breathed back, "Well, I don't mean to sound like Rosalie, but, we are gorgeous, especially compared to them. And we are new, so they are bound to be curious about who we are, where we are from, why we our clothes are so ah-mazing, thanks to me." She held back a chuckle.  
I nodded slowly in understanding. So we would be the center of attention all day. Great. If you knew my mother at all, you would know why this fact would be so discomforting to me.  
When we finally reached the doors of building four, whispers began breaking out in the parking lot. One conversation, close to the door I guessed, stood out.  
"Who are _they_?!" One voice, male, whispered with excitement and curiosity.  
Another voice, female, answered, "They're new. My mom said she saw their registration forms. Apparently they are from some special Alaskan school. Those two girls are step sisters or something, and I think the boy is their cousin." I inferred that this girl's mother worked in the main office, considering the large amount of information she knew about us. Wasn't that supposed to be kept confidential? Jacob, speaking for the first time since we arrived, stopped my train of thought.  
"What's your first class?" He asked.  
I unfolded my schedule and searched the tiny print. "Ooh! Trigonometry!" I grinned at my favorite subject.  
He looked at me like I was insane, which probably wasn't very far off. "English." He said in his husky voice. "Where is that, Alice?"  
"Building three, right next to this one. And trig is in here, Nessie." She replied.  
Phew. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to go back out there. "What do you have, Alice?"  
"French. It's in this building too." She smiled at me as she saw my face wash over with the relief that she wouldn't be too far.  
Jacob grunted. "Well I guess I better get over there," he muttered.  
"Meet us in the cafeteria for lunch. It's in building two." Alice said matter-of-factly.  
He nodded, squeezed my arm, and walked out the door.  
"My parents are going to be listening to us the whole day, aren't they." It wasn't a question.  
Alice didn't answer. "Let's go find your classroom." She said, cheerily changing the subject and pulling me down the hallway.  
A few kids were already in there when we made it to the small room. Alice stopped me before going in.  
"If you need anything, just say you need to go to the bathroom and come find me. My classroom is the last one in this hallway, okay?" She raised her eyebrows at me.  
I nodded, too scared to see if my voice would give away my nervousness. She pecked me quickly on the cheek, and fluttered down the hall. I took a deep breath, hiked my designer tote bag onto my shoulder, and walked into the classroom.  
The teacher looked up at my entrance. "Hello," he said, looking a little confused.  
"Hi. I'm Renesmee Wolfe... it's my first day." I replied sheepishly.  
Recognition flickered in his expression. "Ah, yes. Welcome. I'm Mr. North." He handed me a textbook and a syllabus. "Why don't you sit in the last seat of this row." He pointed to the middle of the classroom.  
"Okay, thanks." I said quietly as I filed towards my new seat. Kids had started filling the room, and they all were either whispering and staring, or just staring at me. I pretended to be focusing on reading my syllabus and I could feel my face getting hot.  
When the bell rang, Mr. West got up from his chair. "Good morning. As you may or may not have noticed, we have an addition to our class." He gestured to me, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"  
My eyes got wide, and every eye in the room was on me. I swallowed loudly and stood up. "Hi, um... I'm Renesmee. I'm 17, and I just moved here from Alaska..." I didn't know what else he wanted from me, so I sat down.  
"Welcome." He smiled at me, and began with today's lesson, but no one turned to look at him. They all stared at me.  
Finally, when that horrible forty minutes ended, I shuffled out the door. I walked as fast as I could without looking like a vampire towards Alice's classroom, and she met me halfway.  
"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned. I then realized that my expression most likely looked traumatized and confused.  
I quickly composed myself and said, "Nothing, really. Humans just stare a lot."  
She giggled and rolled her eyes playfully, "tell me about it."  
"Where am I going?" I asked, suddenly scared I wouldn't be able to find my next spot. Alice circled my next three classes and the cafeteria on the map.  
"I'll meet you in the cafeteria, okay? Don't worry; everything is going to be great." Her eye sparkled and she walked towards building three.

* * *

I walked quickly to my French class and my teacher directed me to my seat. Only one more period until lunch, I told myself with relief. As other students straggled in, a short boy with light brown hair sat down in the seat next to me. I glanced at him and saw that he was staring, of course. You would think that I would have been used to the staring after three periods straight of it, but I wasn't. I was convinced that it was something no one ever got used to, despite Alice's comfort.

"Hey," the boy said.

I looked up from my newly rebound French book, surprised. "Hello."

"I'm Brendon. Are you new here?" he asked.

"Yeah… I'm Renesmee, er... Nessie… I know that Renesmee can be kind of a mouthful..." I chuckled nervously.

"Oh ok, um, Nessie. So, where are you from?" He asked with pure interest.

"Alaska, actually. My parents, sister, cousin and I just moved here." I explained the false story. I felt bad lying to him, so innocent and cute.

"Oh! How cool! Does it rain a lot there, too?" He grinned.

"It rains, but definitely not as much as Forks." I grinned back. The teacher then began the class, rattling off in French about the day's lesson. I was fluent in French, but I thought I needed an easy, but still fun, class, so I signed up for French three.

After forty minutes of perfecting our verb forms, the bell finally set us free to lunch.

"Hey, Nessie," Brendon started as I was about to bolt through the doors, "Do you want to sit with me and a few of my friends at lunch?"

"Um, sure... as long as my sister and cousin can join us." I offered with the cutest smile I could work up. I just hoped Alice and Jacob wouldn't be mad at me for being the spokesperson in this instance.

He stared blankly, but with wonder at me for a couple seconds. Then he snapped out of it and replied, "Erm... yeah, sure." I wondered what his expression was about. Did he have some sort of strange stutter or something? I internally shrugged and decided it wasn't worth questioning.

Brendon and I walked to the cafeteria where I saw Alice and Jacob waiting outside.

When we approached them, I said, "Brendon, this is my sister, Alice, and my cousin, Jacob."

"Hi." He said tentatively.

"Brendon invited us to sit with him and his friends, what do you think?" I gave a pleading look to Alice, though I knew that she already knew the outcome. She sighed, and nodded. Jacob looked appalled.

Brendon led us through the lunch line and to a long table. In the lunch line, I grabbed random food, intrigued by the cool brand name stuff they had here. Don't get me wrong, I've eaten my share of human food, but we didn't go to the supermarket, and with good reason. Alice claimed she wasn't hungry, and Jacob grabbed a couple things. He had hunted last night.

A few kids had already congregated at the table when we sat down.

"Who are they?" I heard a girl whisper to her friend sitting next to her, a few seats down. She probably assumed that we couldn't hear her.

"Ask Brendon, he seems to know them," The other girl said with a jealous edge to her voice.

Then, louder, the first girl asked, "Did you make some new friends, Brendon?"

He grinned, "Yup! This here is Nessie, Alice, and Jacob." He then gestured towards the girls, "That's Kaylee and Marie."

"Hello," I said to them with a friendly smile as I sat down. Alice sat next to me and Jacob sat across from me.

"So," Kaylee started, scooting down so she was just one seat away from Jacob, "where are you guys from?"

"Alaska," Alice answered quickly. I felt annoyed that she thought I wouldn't deliver the story well enough.

"Oh." Kaylee replied, seeming almost disappointed that we weren't from somewhere cooler. Figuratively, that is.

Then Brendon, who was looking over at the corner of the cafeteria, had said, "They're selling popsicles over there, does anyone want one?"

Jacob and Alice both shook their heads. I didn't want to ask what it was, so I said, "Sure." It couldn't be worse than dry elk.

By that time, nearly the whole table was full. Brendon had introduced us to them all, but the only ones who had talked to us were Brendon and Kaylee.

"What's a popsicle?" I asked, so low that Jacob, sitting across from me, could barely hear me.

Alice fought back a giggle. Was it really my fault that I had never been exposed to this funny sounding word? "Humans seem to like them, I think you'll like it," she breathed back.

I shrugged as Brendon came walking towards us with two icy masses on a stick. I didn't quite know what to do with it, so I waited for Brendon to start eating it. He began licking it, and I did the same. It had many fruity tastes, but cold and ice-like. I was about to ask Jacob if he wanted a lick, but then I figured he would probably bite half of the thing off. Plus, it would melt if it got too close to him.

"These are really yummy." I said with sincerity to no one in particular.

Jacob and Alice grinned, and Brendon laughed. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

I smiled. I really liked Brendon, he was nice and he seemed to have a good heart. I just had to focus on not accidentally touching him with my palm, because that might end badly.

"So what's your next class, Nessie?" He asked, glancing at my nearly finished popsicle.

"Biology," I took another lick.

Jacob's eyes lit up, "Me too."

I smiled hugely. "What do you have, Brendon?"

"English," he said with a sigh. The bell was about to ring.

"Well I guess I'll see you around," I said to Brendon.

"Yeah, see you." He replied as we all got up.

Jacob and I walked together towards the biology wing of building two. There were about a thousand class pictures on the wall, and a streak of pale faces flashed by in the corner of my eye. I stopped dead, but Jacob continued walking.

"Jacob!" I hissed.

He turned to see me staring at the class photo. He walked three long strides to reach me. "What?"

I pointed to a pale girl and a pale boy. "That's my dad! And Alice!" I whispered. It was a good thing that the picture was very dated and hard to see with human eyes, otherwise someone might recognize Alice.

Jacob's mouth grew into a smile. "And there's your mom." He pointed further down on the picture, near the S's. "Now come on, we don't want to be late." He pulled me away from the picture.

I entered the small, cold biology room with a feeling of nostalgia. "Can you believe this is the same place my parents met?!" I whispered to Jacob.

He rolled his eyes, but smiled. We approached the teacher together, explaining our case. He led us to an empty lab table near the back of the room, and began class shortly after.

The last three periods of the day were fascinating, but very easy material wise. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about that.

I walked towards the parking lot to find Alice and the Volvo, and Brendon caught up with me.

"Oh! Hey, Brendon!" I said with a smile.

"Hi! How did you like your first day?" He asked with a grin.

I nodded slowly. "It was actually pretty good."

"I'm happy to hear that." We had reached the beginning of the lot.

"Yeah, well I see Alice waiting for me, so I better get going." I said as I waved and said goodbye.

"So, how are you?" Alice asked when I reached the car.

I sighed. "It was a long day, but fun." I grinned widely. "How was yours?"

"Perfect." She flashed a smile. "Here comes Jacob." He walked towards us.

"Hi. How was your day?" I looked up at him and beamed.

He grunted, "Fine."

"Let's get going. Your parents are waiting, Nessie." Alice said.

I grimaced. "Great…"

By the time we had pulled up the driveway, I heard my parents speaking in whispers.

"But she _dazzled_ him, Edward!!" My mother whisper-screamed, stifling a giggle.

I did _what?_

"Shh! Great, Bella, she heard you." My dad said.

She giggled again. "Oops."

I ran into the room. "What is 'dazzled'?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Jacob and Alice joined us shortly after.

"Umm…" My mom pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh.

"Tell me!" I demanded, turning to my father.

He raised his hands in innocence. "Hey, I've only witnessed it in people's thoughts. Your mother is the one who has witnessed it firsthand, and she practically invented the term."

"Mom. Come on. Spit it out."

She laughed again. "Okay, fine. I use the term 'dazzle' to describe when a vampire, or in this case, a half-vampire, causes an innocent human to be temporarily stuck, due to said vampire, or half-vampire's, beautiful expression, usually a smile. Get it?" She raised an eyebrow in challenge.

My brows furrowed. "Sure… but when did I do _that_?"

She laughed hysterically now, turning to my dad, "She doesn't even know when she's doing it!!"

He rolled his eyes playfully. "I didn't know either, if you remember correctly."

"My human memories are foggy…" She pouted.

"Hello! Explain, please!" I said, as they had seemed to have forgotten about little old me sitting over here in confusion.

My mother faced me. "You know how when you were talking to Brendon today—"

"You eavesdroppers!!" I shrieked in anger.

She sighed, and continued, "When you smiled at him, trying to persuade him to let Alice and Jacob sit with you guys? And he looked all dazed for like a second?"

"Yeah…" I said, remembering more clearly now that I thought he had a weird stutter...

"Well, you dazzled him. There's no other way to put it." She seemed satisfied, even proud of me.

"You are crazy." I said plainly with a laugh.

"That's not the first time I've gotten that…" My mom said with a giggle. "So, how was your day?"

"Like you don't already know," I said coldly, angry that they had listened to my thoughts all day long. I sat at the other end of the wraparound couch in the living room. Jacob sat down next to me.

"Nessie," my dad came to sit on my other side. I scooted closer to Jacob. "We were just checking on you, we're worried about you." Alice and Jacob shot him glares. "Not that you weren't in good hands, but we don't like you to be away from us," he finished.

"I know, I know." I internally rolled my eyes. "But I would appreciate a little mental privacy."

My father nodded. "I promise not to _intentionally_ read your thoughts while you are at school, okay?" My mother shot him a glance saying, 'are you crazy?!'

I, on the other hand, smiled at this promise. "Okay. And don't try to sneak around in my head, because _I_ promise I'll figure it out eventually."


	5. Chapter 5: Le Rendezvous

Chapter 5: Le Rendez-vous

"NO! NO! NO! Absolutely not! Are you CRAZY?!" Jacob shouted at me.

I felt very small. "But it's just one stupid, school dance! Come _on_, Jacob!" Tears were welling up in frustration.

"No! That is my final answer. No." He set his jaw.

"We're not on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' Jacob." My mom said, jokingly.

I didn't know what _that _was, but I said, "Mom! This is serious! Why can't I go?!"

"I never said you couldn't. It's Jake who has the issue." She said.

"Is it really that big of a mystery why?" He said coldly.

"Oh come on! You know I don't like him like _that_! It's purely for experience purposes!" I defended my case.

Throughout my first few weeks at Forks High, Brendon and I had become great friends. Earlier that day, Brendon had asked me to attend the Winter Dance with him at school. I reluctantly told him I had to think about it, when I really just had to convince my overprotective werewolf of a best friend to let me.

"I would have taken you!" He rebutted.

"Yeah that's not weird at all, going to the dance with your COUSIN!" I glared at him.

He didn't have a response to that, except, "You're not going, and that's final."

I was mad. Beyond mad. I could have punched a hole in the wall, I was so mad. But Esme wouldn't have liked that, so I contained myself… physically. "You're just jealous! You're scared that I'll like him better than you! Even when you know that could never happen! And you're not my mom or my dad and you can't tell me what to do!!" I exploded and ran out the back door, jumped the lake, and continued running, tears streaming down my face. This was SO not a big deal at all, but he was making it one, so, so was I.

I got to the prairie a few miles behind our house, and I lied down on the grass. I stared at the many heavy clouds in the sky, preparing for rain. My mother came into the clearing shortly after.

"Hey," she said, lying down next to me. I didn't reply. "I know Jacob's annoying, and that you're mad, but don't blame him. He can't help the way he feels about you." I still didn't say anything. I was too steamed to even reply with an eye roll or a sigh. I just lay there, staring at the sky while my tears dried on my cheeks. She didn't interrupt.

"Why is he being so difficult?" I asked, after about ten minutes of staring at the sky.

"Well, mostly because he loves you." She said with a smile.

"Well if he loves me so much he should be able to let me do what I want." I frowned. "You know what?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm going to that dance with Brendon, whether Jacob likes it or not! He can't tell me what to do! He holds no power over me!" I declared.

My mom's eyebrows furrowed, "For some reason, I'm starting to think this is more than just Brendon and the dance…"

"It is! It's for all the times when he wouldn't let me do something just because _he_ didn't like it or think it was safe!" Jacob could be so selfish at times. I got up from the damp floor and began running towards the mansion. I needed a few things: a phone, Alice, and a very fast car.

* * *

"What are you planning?" My mother asked when she caught up with me.

"I'm going to call Brendon and accept the invitation, and then Alice and I are going shopping." I grinned. It wasn't a very elaborate plan, but it was better than staying home arguing with Jacob.

"Don't you have homework?" My mother nagged.

"Mom, it's Friday. And if you really want I'll do it when we get back, but I really just need to get out of here right now."

She sighed as I ran faster. The house was in sight now, and I was thinking hard.

"_Dad, tell Alice to grab a cell phone and meet me in her Porsche. We are going shopping, but it's not like she doesn't already know that."_

"I'll see you later, Mom." I said as I ran straight to the garage where Alice was waiting in the car with a smile.

"Let's go." She said, her whole face gleaming. She got to about 100 mph before we even got on the highway. "So, I was thinking we could try a Port Angeles first, because it's close, and if we don't find anything there we can check Olympia tomorrow." She was beaming, "I'm so excited for you!"

I smiled back. Alice was always so supportive of these types of things, and I appreciated it. "I guess I should probably call Brendon before Jacob can stop me." I took a deep breath and grabbed the tiny silver cell phone Alice held out to me.

"His dad will answer on the second ring, they just finished dinner." Alice informed me.

I held back an eye roll and said, "Thanks," holding the phone up to my ear.

Like Alice predicted, Brendon's father answered on the second ring, go figure. "Hullo?"

"Hi, um, it's Nessie. Is Brendon there?" I asked, nervously. What would his father think of some random girl with a weird name calling to talk to his son? Or was this a usual thing?

Before I could finish freaking out, Brendon got on the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Nessie."

I could practically feel his smile through the phone. "Hi! What's up?"

"Uhh, I was just calling to say that I, um, gladly accept your invitation to the dance." It came out sounding like a question.

He sounded like he was trying to keep calm. "Oh! Great! Okay! Well, great! Um, I'll uh, talk to you later, I guess… unless you wanted to chat for a while?"

"Actually I'm just headed out shopping with my sister, so I'll talk to you later, okay?" I dared a glance at Alice, who was beaming as I hung up the phone.

"Well, he sounded excited." Alice giggled.

I laughed nervously. "Yeah…" I was getting worried that maybe I had given off the wrong impression. Would he expect more dates? Would he go around and tell the whole school that I was going to the dance with him and that I was his girlfriend? Was that what I had implied?

"You alright there, Ness?" Alice asked, almost chuckling.

I looked at my worried expression in the rear view mirror and composed it, "Mm hmm."

Alice pulled into the lot in front of the only department store in Port Angeles. She got out of the car and we walked briskly into the store. We were walking towards the dress section when Alice stopped dead, with the familiar look of blankness on her face. I backed up. "What? What is it?"

"Do you hear that?" She asked, coming back to reality.

I listened hard in the middle of the heated department store. My ears weren't as good as Alice's, and all I heard was faint footsteps, the beep of a cash register, and my own heartbeat, though it sounded further away then usual…

"Of course I didn't see it, because I thought it was you!" Alice whispered frantically.

I was thoroughly confused. "What?"

"One of _you_. Here. Now."

"One of _me_?! What? How? What are the odds?!" I had to keep my voice from getting louder than a whisper.

"We need to leave." Alice said firmly and pulled me back towards the entrance of the store.

I didn't protest. Half-vampires meant full vampires, which I did not want to get involved in. But Alice wouldn't have brought me here if she had seen any vampires… Did that mean the mysterious half-vampire was with humans? Was there more to the future that Alice didn't tell me? She was whispering intensely into the cell phone, to Carlisle, I assumed. I then heard a very loud, shrill voice on the other end, saying, "Bring her home!" It was my mother, freaking out. No surprise there. We drove home in silence; it was too tense for me to ask any questions. I had no doubt that they would find a way to get out of my mouth when I stepped into the house.

We approached the loud cacophony, not bothering to put the Porsche in the garage.

"Rosalie, take Renesmee to the cottage." My dad ordered when I stepped in the door.

I gaped at him. "What?! Why?!"

He didn't answer me. Rosalie reluctantly pulled me out the back door and towards our cottage.


	6. Chapter 6: Tybalt

Chapter 6: Tybalt

"Do _you_ know what Alice saw?" I asked when we reached the quaint house.

She pressed her lips together. I could tell she didn't like keeping secrets from me—we had bonded as soon as I had come into this world, maybe even before that.

"What, did my dad tell you not to tell me anything?" I asked, appalled that this could very well be true.

She grimaced and nodded. "Sorry, Nessie, but if I _do_ tell you anything, your parents will bite my head off."

I sighed and sat down on the couch. I grabbed the remote to our flat screen TV and turned it on. Reruns of Alice's favorite old show, What Not to Wear, were on. I settled for this, trying to keep my mind off of what could be happening at the mansion. Rosalie sat down next to me, visibly trying to keep her mouth shut.

"This isn't fair," I said after Stacy and Clinton had helped yet another poor fashion victim.

"I know." Rosalie patted my arm with hands colder than ice. It was a little chilly in here to begin with. I went over to the thermostat and turned it up. I was the only reason there was even heating and air conditioning in the house, so I kept the temperature how I liked it at all times. On my way back to the couch, I spotted my mother's seriously beaten up copy of _Pride and Prejudice_. It was one of my favorites as well, so I picked it up and took it back to the couch with me. Rosalie appeared to continue to watch TV, but I could tell she really was just focusing on not spilling the beans. The words on the page had no meaning to me; I just couldn't focus on anything but what happened at the store. What were the odds that another half-vampire would even be in the area—let alone in the same town and the same _store_ as me? It was possible that it was Nahuel, he visited here often, but wouldn't he have just gone straight to the house? And Alice would have figured out if it was him, by the people he was with. It must have been someone else. But who? And how would they have found me? I was convinced that I, like my mother, must have some gravitational pull to all things dangerous. And was the other half-vampire a male or female? Because if they were male, that could cause some problems…

"Nessie, you can come back to the mansion now." Jacob interrupted my train of thought by bursting through the front door. Rosalie looked relieved that she didn't have to not talk to me anymore. I calmly turned off the TV and power-walked out of the house, in order to keep pace with Jacob.

"What's going on?" I asked with innocent curiosity.

Jacob sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you anything until we get there," he said monotonously, like it was well rehearsed. For once, he didn't take a blow at Rosalie's self-esteem either.

The three of us entered the quiet, tense living room. "Good. Now I can actually know what's going on." I said with a nervous chuckle. When no one else started laughing, I stopped and looked at my leather boot-covered feet. The crescent moon and the lamp in the corner were the only providers of light at the moment. No one was speaking, so I went to go sit down next to my dad.

"So, what did I miss?" I asked, as casually as possible.

My dad sighed. "Alice, as you know, smelled and heard another half-vampire in the department store."

"Yes…" This was nothing new. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

He swallowed. "A boy."

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. "But the— with the— and the— the venom!" I stuttered, suddenly scared for my small home of Forks.

He nodded, trying to keep calm. "I know. It's going to be okay. Everyone will be fine." He shot a worried glance at my mom.

"Is he with other vampires?" I asked, a little more than nervous.

"No, humans." He said, almost as surprised by this as I was, though we really shouldn't be, considering Nahuel's circumstances.

"What else did Alice see?" I asked, getting the feeling that I wasn't receiving the whole story.

"Um, not much. She just wanted to be careful, because he's venomous and all, so she wanted to get you out of the store…" He trailed off.

I eyed him suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Edward, she'll find out soon enough; you might as well…" My mom chirped up.

He stared at her for a long moment, contemplating. Then, with a sigh, he added, "Well, Ness, he just moved to Forks."

I gasped and jumped up from the couch. "_What did you say?!_" I asked in outrage. My poor little town of Forks, in so much danger! It was bad enough that _we_ were even here! And now this crazy venomous half-vampire?

"Renesmee. Sit down. It's going to be fine." My dad said, attempting to pull me back towards the couch.

"I don't see how this is going to be fine." I pulled away from him and quickly walked over to Jacob, who was now in his wolf form. He nudged my hand with his nose and I pet his head. I couldn't believe that this evening started with him and me arguing about the school dance. It all seemed so trivial now.

"Nessie, don't make judgments. He's not going to hurt anyone. Alice can see that. What if everyone who knew what _you_ were made judgments?" My dad asked rhetorically.

I guess he was right. I sighed. "Fine. I'll stop freaking out now." I crossed my arms, but Jake protested, and I continued petting him.

"But what if I see him somewhere around town?" I asked nervously.

"You're going to have to play dumb. Don't let on that you know what he is, or information about what you are." My dad replied seriously.

Play dumb. I could do that. It sounded easy, I reassured myself.

The rest of the weekend went by in a nervous blur. No one left the immediate area, and no one went into town at all. Brendon called a few times, but when he asked why I sounded so weird, I claimed I was coming down with a cold.

"Feeling better?" He asked as I sat down in French class on Monday morning.

I almost didn't realize what he was talking about. "Oh, um, yeah. Thanks."

"So did you hear we have another new student?" He asked excitedly.

I froze. But I replied before he could notice, "Oh, really?" I took a few deep breaths, trying to make them unnoticeable.

"Yeah, I think his name is Tybalt or something. Apparently he's lived all over Europe." He snorted, trying to make the statement nonchalant.

I was definitely freaking out now. _"DAD! DAD!" _I shouted in my head, and for the first time hoping he had broken his promise just this once. _"The halfy! My school! Oh my _god_!"_ I was having a mental breakdown. Luckily, on the outside, I appeared to be listening to Madame's lecture on French architecture.

I walked as quickly as I could, with Brendon on my heels, to find Alice.

"Did you hear we have a _new student_?" I gave her a meaningful look.

She didn't look surprised and didn't reply.

I pressed my palm to her arm, trying to make it look natural. "_YOU KNEW?!" _I screamed in my head at her.

"Let's go to lunch." Alice said quickly, completely ignoring me. I was outraged.

I nearly fell over when I walked into the cafeteria to see Kaylee and Marie _flirting_—that's right, flirting!—with a tall figure with dark brown hair and striking blue eyes. I stopped in my tracks.

"What's wrong Ness?" Brendon asked, confused. I quickly composed myself.

"Uh, who is that?" I asked, trying to sound normal.

He followed where my eyes were staring in shock. "Tybalt," he whispered.

"Hey Brendon, this is Tybalt." Marie said proudly as she presented the confident-looking teenager.

There was no doubt that Tybalt was gorgeous. His bright blue eyes stood out against his slightly tanned skin and his dark chocolate hair.

Tybalt shot out his hand to shake Brendon's. Brendon looked both surprised and annoyed as he shook it and sat down. "This is Nessie, Alice, and Jacob." Brendon took it upon himself to introduce us.

Tybalt didn't even falter as he took the empty seat between Kaylee and Jacob. I thought I heard a low rumble coming from Jacob's chest.

"So, how do you like Forks?" Kaylee asked with a visible eyelash flutter.

"Not the shabbiest place I've lived." He said with a flash of perfect white teeth. Kaylee and Marie giggled more than necessary.

"How many places have you lived, again?" Marie asked, sounding like she just wanted to hear the sound of his voice.

"This is my fourteenth." He said, pretending to try and sound modest.

Brendon looked really annoyed. "That's cool," he muttered. "You know, Nessie, Jacob, and Alice just moved here about a month ago." He said, suddenly louder.

"Oh, really? Where from?" Tybalt's piercing, blue eyes nearly blinded me.

"A small town in Alaska; our mom really likes small towns." Alice chirped up.

He nodded slowly, noticing Alice's untouched tray of food. "Not hungry today, Alice, is it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

I placed my palm on her knee, attempting to make the gesture look natural. _"Crap!!"_

"I eat a big breakfast." Alice said naturally with a shrug. I was just having trouble keeping my face composed.

"_Oh. My. God. He _knows_!!" _I internally shouted at Alice, keeping my hand on her knee. She winced at my volume. _"Sorry."_

She sent me a look that said "calm down." I took a deep breath.

Tybalt looked from Alice to me a couple of times. "You two are sisters?" He asked skeptically.

"Step," we both corrected in unison.

Kaylee soon demanded Tybalt's attention back to her, and we got to spend the rest of the period in peace. Though, Tybalt kept glancing at me, which was weird, and Brendon definitely noticed.

The next few days went on the same: Tybalt sitting with us at lunch and questioning our humanity, and me freaking out.

After school on Friday, as I was walking towards the parking lot, Tybalt seemed to appear out of nowhere, suddenly walking right next to me.

"Hi," he said, staring at me. Again.

"Hello," I said, continuing to look straight ahead. Our fluttering heartbeats were nearly in perfect unison. This worried me.

He looked around quickly; no one was close enough to hear our conversation. This worried me more. "I know you're like me." He whispered frantically.

My heart faltered. I told myself to play dumb. "What are you talking about?" I asked, attempting to look genuinely confused.

"I can hear your heart, and I know you know that mine sounds the same." He said, his blue eyes flaming.

"I—" I started.

"If you tell _anyone_, I will personally make your life a living hell." He threatened in a low voice.

I was shocked, and completely forgot about the whole playing dumb thing. "That makes no sense. Why would _I_ tell anyone? You should trust _me_ of all people!" I hissed.

He looked taken aback, and glanced at Alice and Jacob waiting for me at the end of the lot. "I do trust you. It's just—" Jacob's approach cut him off.

"Come on, Nessie," Jake said protectively. Tybalt disappeared the other way, as Alice, Jake, and I rode home in silence.


	7. Chapter 7: The Invitation

_A note to my many fans: Thank you SO MUCH for the ah-mazing support you all have given me!! It's really convinced me to continue on with this story, and I will be forever grateful. Thanks again! (And remember: constructive criticism is greatly appreciated as well! :D)_

_

* * *

_Chapter 7: The Invitation

I tried my hardest not to think about my encounter with Tybalt after school, but it was tough. My dad had already seen it in Alice's thoughts, anyway.

"I just don't understand how he could go in and out of my range so quickly," my dad was saying when we walked in the front door.

"Oh, Nessie!" My mother sighed when she saw me enter. "I'm so sorry he was so mean to you!"

She could be so overdramatic sometimes about me. "I'm fine."

"Way to play dumb, Ness." Emmett commented sarcastically with a smirk.

My eyes narrowed at him, "Really, feel free to go beat him up if I said too much. It's fine with me…" I was still frustrated with him for his accusations. It shocked me that he thought that _I_ would expose his secret. _Our_ secret, I corrected myself. Exposing him would be like exposing me and my whole family. I didn't know what type of person he thought I was, but hopefully he could understand why I would keep our chromosome count on the down low.

"Nessie, he just wants to have control over the situation. He's known all along you wouldn't expose him." My dad, listening in again, reassured me. My mom had pulled me on the couch between her and Jacob.

I sat up a little straighter. "It was just rude, that's all."

"Yeah, it was rude, wasn't it?" My mom said, stirring up. "Maybe I should give him a piece of my mind…"

"Or a piece of your fist," Emmett suggested.

I giggled and rolled my eyes. "It's fine, just, whatever." I tried to make my voice sound nonchalant. I didn't exactly need my parents at my school attempting to fix my "bully problem." Especially because my parents look about as old as I do. I sighed audibly. I really didn't want to talk about this right now.

Lucky for me, the tiny silver cell phone on the coffee table began ringing loudly. Only one person had the number, besides our family.

"Hey, Nessie," Brendon said after I answered the phone.

"Hi Brendon, what's up?" I asked casually.

"Well, there's this _huge_ bonfire party happening down at First Beach in La Push, and a lot of us are going. Do you guys wanna go?" He sounded truly excited.

"Uh, sure… just let me make sure it's okay with my parents." I pressed the receiver to my shoulder. "Can I go? Please? Please?" I whispered frantically to my parents.

"Absolutely not!" My mom hissed.

"Can I call you back in a sec?" I asked Brendon, and hung up the phone. "Oh come _on_ Mom! Just because _you_ spent all your time over here in the house of freaks during high school doesn't mean I have to!" I teased jokingly.

"She's got a point you know…" Emmett agreed.

"But what if _you-know-who_ is there?" She warned me.

I decided I would do anything to get out of the house. "Who cares? Come on! Please, please, please!" I made my eyes as big as they could get.

She caved, "Fine."

I let out a squeal of glee. "Alice, are you going?" She shook her head at me. "Jacob?" He nodded like his life depended on it.

I called Brendon back, and he said he would give us a ride in his mom's SUV. I had to give him very specific directions to the house.

"It's fine, Mom, he doesn't have to _enter_ the house. Jake and I will wait in the driveway," I qualified when she freaked out.

"Damn, that's a big house." Brendon breathed when we got into his car ten minutes later. It was already filled with a ton of kids from our school and lunch table, including Kaylee, Marie, and Tybalt. Jacob sat between Tybalt and I, and it was a good thing that I'm tiny, because Jacob took up his whole seat and half of mine.

"You feeling okay, Jake? You seem a little warm." Tybalt asked Jacob with a raised eyebrow.

Jacob grunted, "I'm fine," and sent Tybalt a glare that certainly shut him up.

"_This isn't good_," I thought as I pressed my palm on Jacob's arm. "_He's figuring out _everything_!_"

"It's fine," Jacob breathed under the chatter of the car.

We finally made it to the beach, where you could see the smoke from the bonfire rising.

I saw a lot of Quileute kids, but one stood out, very tall, gangly, and strong. Almost like Jacob-strong.

Then he turned around and I gasped audibly as he started running towards us.

"Jake? Is that you?! Jake!!" He was almost to us now. Jacob and I exchanged a very worried glance.

Seth Clearwater was back, and he was going to blow our whole cover.

* * *

_Another Note: Just so you all know, I will be going on vacation this coming week, so it may be a while until I'm able to write again, and sorry for the long wait for this chapter too, lol. Thank you all so much for your continued support!!_


	8. Chapter 8: The Bonfire

Chapter 8: The Bonfire

"Heyyyy Seth, let's go over here," Jacob directed Seth away from our group, trying to make it look casual.

"Wait—you know him?" Brendon asked, appalled and confused.

I had to think on my feet. "_I_ don't," I lied, "But Jake does, I guess. I suppose we've never told you this, but he actually lived here in LaPush before he was orphaned and we took him in." I smiled sadly.

Brendon nodded, slowly comprehending—thank gawd. I let out the deep breath I was holding in as Jake called me over to where he and Seth were standing.

"Nessie!! It's been too long!!" Seth shouted, about to entangle me in a giant hug. I shook my head quickly and warned him not to with my eyes. Luckily, no one was looking this way.

"I don't know you!" I whispered, informing Seth on the situation. "Who's this?" I asked louder, pretending not to know Seth, and also placing my palm on Jacob's arm. _"Just so you know, you used to live here before you were orphaned, and I haven't met Seth until now."_ I explained in my mind. He nodded, and whispered this to Seth.

We walked back over to where our group had congregated, and Jacob introduced his friend to everyone.

"So, I overheard Nessie say that you used to live out here." Tybalt said, walking up to Jacob and Seth.

"Yeah," Jacob said. "Why do you mention it?" He challenged. I don't think I was the only one who noticed his hands beginning to shake. He was usually in better control of his temper…

"Well, I just thought it sounded kind of weird, I mean, why would you want to come back to the place where you're parents _died_?" He didn't seem scared at all.

My jaw dropped instantly. I knew Jacob wouldn't be able to keep from phasing if this kept up, and Tybalt was _not_ ruining our cover.

I stepped in front of Jacob so that I was face-to-face with Tybalt. "If I were you, I would stop right there." I advised, feeling Jacob's intense shaking behind me.

"What are you going to do, annoy me to death?" He smirked at me.

"Don't you dare—" Jacob threatened, but I pushed him into the forest, and he obeyed. I did _not_ want to have to deal with Jacob phasing in front of everyone. Seth followed us.

"Calm him down," I told Seth, trying to look normal as I emerged from the trees to where everyone was standing.

They were all whispering and staring into the forest where I took Jacob and Seth. "Is he okay?" Brendon asked nervously.

"Yup. Just fine. I was just trying to keep the peace, you know. He wanted to talk to Seth…" I trailed off. "So, who's up for a walk down the beach?" I asked with a nervous smile.

"I am!" Brendon accepted eagerly.

"Kaylee and I will join you." Tybalt said, taking Kaylee's hand.

"We will?" Kaylee looked confused, and then saw her hand in Tybalt's, and said, "I mean, okay!"

Everyone else decided to stay and watch some LaPush kids get the bonfire ready; it was nearly dark. I tightened my coat around my torso as the four of us started towards the crashing waves. Brendon started to make small talk, and I wasn't paying much attention. My curls whipped at my face, and I noticed that Tybalt hadn't let go of Kaylee's hand. I didn't know they were together…

"Don't you think?" Brendon was talking to me, now.

"Yeah," I said, not knowing what I was responding to.

"You guys go up ahead, we'll catch up in a minute," Tybalt said, speaking to Brendon and me.

"Ohh-kay," I said, exchanging a glance with Brendon. Once they were out of earshot, I asked, "So, are those two together now?"

"I'm not sure… It sure seems that way, but I haven't heard anything…" He seemed to be just as confused as I was. "So," he said, changing the subject, "excited for the dance?"

Crap. I had completely forgotten all about the dance. "Yeah," I said, grinning falsely. "It's next Friday, isn't it?"

He nodded and checked over his shoulder to see Tybalt and Kaylee coming towards us. We stopped walking to let them catch up.

"Sorry about that," Tybalt said when they reached us. Kaylee looked absolutely giddy. Brendon and I exchanged another glance.

"So, are you guys going to the dance?" Brendon asked, addressing Tybalt and Kaylee.

Tybalt didn't move his eyes from Kaylee's. "Yes, we are." He said confidently.

Kaylee looked a little surprised, but just kept grinning, her dark blonde hair blowing wildly around her face.

"We should probably get back, the bonfire's about to start," I said, noticing that darkness had encompassed the beach. The rest nodded and we made our way back to where the rest of the group was. There was a huge circle of logs to be sat on, and Jacob waved me over to where he and Seth were sitting. Luckily, Brendon was called over by one of his friends who was about to chuck a football at him.

"Hey," I said once I reached them. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, and you know I would never phase in front of everyone, give me some credit," He said under his breath.

"I know, but you seemed to be getting pretty close…" I trailed off. I didn't want to argue any more today.

"I swear, if that kid keeps it up, one day he's gonna be sorry he messed with us," Jacob said in a low growl.

"Breathe." I told him. "So Seth, what brings you here?" I asked. Seth had been roaming the world, seeing places he'd "never thought he'd see."

"Well, I had just gotten to Montreal when I picked up a strange scent, kind of like yours," He thought back, remembering. "And so I followed it, and it led me here. At first I thought it was you, but you haven't been to Montreal lately, have you?"

I shook my head, my eyes wide. "Tybalt," I said, so low that Seth could barely hear me.

He nodded, "That's what Jake said." His eyebrows furrowed. "It was weird, though, because I didn't pick up any other human or vampire," he nearly breathed that word, "scents that followed the trail, until I got here."

"Really…" I said, my eyebrows furrowing as well. But, Brendon's approach cut me off. He sat down next to me, and his friend John sat down on his other side, taking up the rest of the log. Tybalt and Kaylee were on the next log over, watching the fire, while Kaylee rested her head on his shoulder. I pressed my right arm against Jacob, so that I wouldn't be as cold in the whipping wind. If I concentrated really hard, I could occasionally make my power transfer up my arm. I thought hard, and loud, "_Why was Tybalt in Montreal?_" Jacob jumped. I guess I was a little louder than I thought. But, hey, at least it was working. I grinned at my success.

"How am I supposed to—," Jacob was cut off by the sudden silence that surrounded the crackling fire.

I looked around. "What happened?" I asked Brendon in a whisper.

"One of the Quileute kids has just agreed to tell a scary story," Brendon replied excitedly.

Jacob swore under his breath. "This can't end well…" He breathed. We exchanged a nervous glance.

"It is said," the russet-tanned boy began ominously, "that on this day, approximately one hundred and fifty years ago, the natural enemy of the wolf entered the reservation." The crackling fire reflected onto his face. "They call them," he paused for dramatic effect, "The Cold Ones."

There were whispers and gasps around the circle. Jacob swore under his breath again.

"What's a 'Cold One'?" Someone shouted.

I swallowed loudly. At least Alice wasn't here.

"Blood drinkers. Your people call them vampires." The boy replied. (_A random note from the author: Yes, I realize that I kind of suck at telling scary stories, and I apologize for this. Please continue reading, pretending that it was actually scary. Thank you._)

Nearly every person sitting around the fire gasped in horror. I felt dizzy.

"Pretty scary, huh," Brendon nudged me in the arm.

"Uh-huh," I said, the fire spinning. I wondered idly if half-vampires could faint. Jacob seemed to hear this thought, considering my arm was still pressed against his. He looked over at me with alarm in his eyes. I suddenly wished I hadn't come to the beach.

Jacob took a hint well. "Nessie, you don't look so good. Maybe we should go." He said, loud enough for most of our group to hear.

"Yeah, I think I might be coming down with something…" I commented with a cough.

Brendon looked concerned. "How will you get home?"

"Oh, my mom will come and get us. It's no problem. We had a lot of fun. See you guys later." I said, not caring if I looked or sounded weird.

"I better get going too," Seth said as we entered the forest. Seth and Jacob phased, and I hopped onto Jake's back, pressing my cheek into his warm fur.

What had I done? I'd endangered my whole family's existence, that's what. There were like fifty kids sitting around that bonfire. There had to be at least one that guessed our secret. I couldn't believe I had just ruined everything. I hadn't realized I was crying until I felt Jacob's wet fur beneath my face. The forest flew by us until we finally made it back to the house. I hopped off of Jake's back and stumbled towards my mom, who was waiting on the front lawn. My eyes were blurred with tears as I hugged her hard, marble figure.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" My mom asked with deep concern and alarm.

"I just ruined everything, that's all." I explained between sobs.

My mom threw a confused glance at my dad as she moved me inside and onto the couch.

"She thinks our whole cover is blown," My dad said.

"And, is it?" My mom asked.

My dad shook his head confidently. I lifted my head off of my mom's shoulder with hopeful eyes. "Really?"

"Really, there's nothing to worry about, not one of them suspects a thing, well, except for…" He trailed off.

I sniffled. I had a hard time believing that everything was perfect, but my parents seemed pretty convinced. I let it go, considering I was nearly falling asleep anyway.

"I just want to go to bed. It's been a really long day." I sighed and my parents followed me to the cottage. Jacob followed too, but I stopped him. "Go hang out with Seth. I'm sure he's missed you, and I won't be doing anything exciting anyway." He looked torn. "Go," I convinced him. He finally took my advice and went to go catch up with Seth, and I slowly fell into unconsciousness as I moved towards the soft blankets of my bed.


	9. Chapter 9: The Dance

_Hello, everyone! I've had an enormous amount of time to write in the past couple of days, so I'm throwin another chapter at ya! Thank you to everyone for all your support, I wouldn't be writing this without you! :)_

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* * *

_Chapter 9: The Dance

I woke up to a very warm bedroom. It was then when I noticed two big wolves sleeping on the floor. I guessed that this was the room that "smelled the best," though Jacob claimed that his nose was desensitized to the smell of my family. I tiptoed out into the hall, which was freezing in comparison, being careful not to wake them.

"Morning, Nessie," My mom said with a smile. She was sitting on the couch watching the news.

"Morning," I walked into our small kitchen. "Where's Dad?" I asked as I warmed up some milk for hot cocoa.

"He went hunting with Emmett and Jasper." She sighed. "So, last night you left with one werewolf and came back with two, what's up with that?"

I giggled. "Seth found us at the beach. Nearly blew our cover, too, he scared me silly."

She smiled. "He said that he had been in Montreal," She started.

"And then he picked up Tybalt's scent and followed it here." I finished. I was still very curious as to why he had been in Montreal, of all places.

"Don't stress about it. It's no big deal." My mom recognized my "deep-in-thought" face, and changed the subject. "Alice wants to go shopping today, for the dance."

The last time we had attempted to go shopping flooded back to me. I stopped that thought in its tracks. "Okay," I agreed. "Will you come too?" I pleaded.

"Sure," She grinned at me. "We'll go after breakfast."

I sipped my hot cocoa and sat down on the couch next to her. I grabbed the blanket off of the back of the cushion and wrapped it around my legs.

"Are you hungry?" My mom asked, ready to jump up and make whatever I commanded.

"No, no. I'm good for now. Besides, Esme is probably cooking up a full fledge buffet over there for these two." I nodded towards my bedroom door.

As if on cue, we then heard shuffling behind the cherry wood door. I guessed that they didn't have any clothes in my room, because they both came out in their wolf forms. Jacob trotted over to me and gave me a slobbery lick on the cheek. I giggled and wiped the drool off my face.

"Good morning. Did you stash your clothes outside?" I guessed. He nodded his big furry head as Seth moved to stand next to him, stretching. "Well you better get dressed; I think I smell Esme making breakfast." I grinned.

Seth raced outside, phased and got changed like there was a fire in the house. Jacob took his time, and my mom and I followed them to the mansion.

"Good morning, Esme." I said as I closed the back door of the house and walked into the kitchen where, like I had predicted, a buffet of gawd-knows-what was on the counter.

"Jackpot," Seth said under his breath. Esme smiled modestly. Seth immediately began filling his plate to its fullest capacity, as did Jacob, though he was not as eager. I grabbed one of the many bagels sitting on a platter and began drowning it in strawberry cream cheese.

After breakfast, Alice came dancing down the stairs, and noticed me, still in my pajamas.

"_What_ are you wearing? You can't tell me you expect to go shopping like _that_?!" She asked, her mouth forming into a perfect little o of horror.

I laughed. "No, calm down. I just haven't gotten dressed yet. Any suggestions?" I knew she couldn't stay mad at me long if she picked out what I wore. I didn't think she could stay mad at me for long anyway…

She began pulling me towards the cottage and started digging through my walk-in closet. She pulled out a sage green blouse, and a dark denim jean. Alice claimed that the green brought out the bronze tones in my hair, therefore, there was a whole section of light green tops, dresses, skirts—you name it—in my closet. She eyed the outfit for a moment, and said, "This will do. Get dressed," She ordered, and swiftly ran out of my bedroom. I quickly got dressed, added a beaded necklace, grabbed my brown, leather tote bag, and met my mom and Alice in the car.

We made it to Port Angeles in about half an hour, due to Alice's 100 mph driving. We made it to the formal dress section of the department store, where a few store clerks attempted to assist us, but Alice shooed them away as quickly as they had come. After about two hours of being in and out of the dressing rooms, we decided on a sparkly gown with a combination of blue and green tones. By the time we had returned to the car, I was utterly exhausted, and the day was barely half over.

"Do you want to stop for lunch on the way home?" Alice asked, her voice singing with the happiness of our purchase.

"Yes, please." I replied; my stomach was getting unruly. Alice stopped in front of a little pizza place in downtown Port Angeles.

My mom laughed. "Alice," She started, "This is where 'La Bella Italia' used to be."

"So?" Alice said trying to look innocent—and she did it well.

"What is 'La Bella Italia'?" I asked, utterly confused.

My mom sighed. "That's the restaurant where I found out what your dad was, and that he could read minds. Well, I had a pretty good feeling before that, but our conversation here made it official."

I grinned. Alice was always so sweet in the cutest ways. "Should I call and see if the boys want us to bring back a pizza?" I asked, feeling warm and fuzzy inside, due to my mom's story.

Alice nodded, and I called Jacob. He didn't necessarily want the pizza, but Seth definitely did, considering I could just about hear him jumping up and down at the thought of it in the background.

We made it back to the house around one, and I spent the rest of my Saturday relaxing and doing homework.

The week that followed was hectic at school. Brendon kept chattering away about the dance; on Friday, we are going out to dinner with what is pretty much our whole lunch table, and then off to the dance.

When I walked into our house after school on Friday afternoon, I was exhausted; all I wanted to do was lie on the couch and relax. But, there was no time for relaxing. Alice was already buzzing around, stocking the bathroom with every beauty product she could find. I was attempting to mentally prepare myself for what possible form of torture I would be enduring; being a life-size Barbie wasn't exactly my favorite activity.

"Okay, Nessie, we're going to have to move fast. What time did you say Brendon was coming, again?" Alice asked while dragging me towards the bathroom.

"He's picking me up at about 5:45, because the reservation is at six." I replied, my eyes widening at the stash of beauty products Alice had seemed to find. Did they even have that much at a salon?

Alice nodded slowly. "Two hours should be enough. Rose, Esme, Bella? Could you come in here, please? We need all the help we can get." Alice called, though she spoke no louder than if she were speaking to me.

"What do you need, Alice?" Esme asked, sweetly, upon arriving in the bathroom. My mom and Rosalie followed quickly.

"We have two hours before Brendon gets here." Alice said in a businesslike manner. "Rosalie, you're on hair. Esme, you can do her nails. I'll do her make-up. Bella, um…" Alice hesitated.

"How about I hand you all the many beauty products you may need?" My mom suggested with a grin.

"Good idea," Alice agreed. "You can start by handing me the moisturizer right in front of you."

I kept quiet most of the time, unless someone asked me a direct question. The truth was I was actually kind of nervous, in that excited kind of way. I also tried my hardest to avoid my reflection in the mirror, because I knew that I would be overwhelmed by what I saw, so I kept my eyes on the magazine in my lap.

About halfway into the makeover, my dad walked past the door. "How's it going in here?" He asked.

"Fine, it's fine." Alice shooed him away. The only problem with his approach was that it caused me to look up, which also caused me to get a glimpse of my reflection. Luckily, I looked down before I could freak out.

I glanced at my mom. "You okay?" She asked with a hesitant smile.

"Mm hmm," I replied, not opening my mouth. I was afraid that if I did, I might scream.

It took them about another hour to finish me, gawd knows how they managed to make me over for a full two hours. I put my dress and the matching shoes on, and then took a deep breath as I braced myself to look in the mirror. When I did, I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth. I literally had to take a step back.

"Wha— Alice— How?" I was having trouble forming complete sentences.

Alice grinned. "Do you like it?"

I stroked my hair lightly. "I look— I look—" Words couldn't describe it.

"Aww, sweetie! I didn't think you could get any more beautiful, but Alice has proved me wrong!" My mom said, beaming at me.

I then heard a distant car turn from the highway onto the long dirt road to our house. "He's early!" I said in a frenzy.

"You're fine, you're fine. Just come downstairs and grab your purse and your sweater." My mom said, attempting to calm me.

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "Crap, he's gonna want to come _in_ the house!" I remembered, hyperventilating again.

"It'll be fine." My mom assured me. "Your dad, Rose, Emmett, Jasper and I will stay out of sight. And don't forget to call Carlisle and Esme 'Mom' and 'Dad,'" She reminded me with a wink. She then kissed my forehead before I flew down the stairs.

"I can do this," I whispered quietly to myself. "It's going to be fine. How much time, Alice?"

"Two minutes," She replied after looking briefly into the future. "And don't worry; you're going to have a great time." She tapped her temple to emphasize her knowledge.

Jacob then entered the room with a controlled look upon his face. I knew the jealousy was killing him, though he knows there's no competition. I sighed and walked up to him and gave him a big hug.

"Have fun," he said, with very little enthusiasm.

"I love you," I replied, squeezing him a little harder, and then letting go. I could hear Brendon pulling up the drive. My parents both came to quickly give me a hug, and then disappeared upstairs with the others that "didn't exist."

The door knocked, and my heart somehow got faster with nervous excitement. I walked over to the door calmly and opened the door. "Hi, Brendon, come on in." I said, nervously.

His eyes widened when he saw me, and then widened more when he saw the beautiful house behind me. "Whoa. You—and the house—and just—whoa." He said in amazement.

"Brendon, I'd like you to meet my dad, Car—Charlie," I quickly corrected myself, "And my mom, Renee."

"Uh, it's very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe." Brendon said with a stunned expression.

"And you as well," Carlisle replied, he and Esme grinned.

"Well we should probably get going, so I'll see you guys later." I rushed us out the door.

"You look amazing." Brendon said, once we were out the door.

I blushed involuntarily. "Thanks, Alice really likes to do makeovers, evidently." We were in the car now.

At the restaurant, I mostly just listened to the many conversations around me. Most of it was gossip, so I at least got caught up on that. The only bad part was that Brendon I ended up sitting next to Tybalt and Kaylee, though we barely said two words to each other.

The school gym was packed with kids; I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. I danced with Brendon, naturally, and made sure that I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on to my own palms. When the faster songs came on, we danced in a big group with all the kids we went to dinner with.

Then, about an hour into the dance, the DJ made an announcement. "It's that time of night, ladies and gentlemen! All you gents out there please ask a gal who you did _not_ accompany this evening, to dance the Spring Waltz."

Well this was new. I supposed I would just sit by the cookies and punch for the next few songs, but Tybalt and Kaylee suddenly walked up, and Tybalt asked Brendon coolly, with a grin, "Wanna trade?"


	10. Chapter 10: Betrayal

Chapter 10: Betrayal

Brendon laughed. "Sure," He said as he led Kaylee to the other side of the dance floor.

_Oh great,_ I thought to myself. _Now I have to dance with Tybalt. _

He bowed dramatically before he placed his hands naturally around my waist. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you want?" I asked icily.

"Too much," He replied, to my confusion.

I furrowed my brows, "What?"

"We need to talk." He said, still not answering my questions.

"What about?" I asked with pure curiosity.

"Well," He began, "Now that I've found you, I think you have the right to know my story."

Now I was completely and utterly confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Ness. Give up the act. No one can hear us, anyway." He said, his blue eyes flaming.

Did he just call me "Ness"? And I totally wasn't acting, either.

"We're so much alike, you know, besides the obvious." He continued.

"What's the obvious?" Okay, okay, so I was acting a little.

He sighed. "We're both _half-vampires_, remember?" He whispered with an eye roll.

"Oh yeah!" I said sarcastically, "I completely forgot."

"Listen, do you want to hear how I got here or not?" He asked, completely serious now.

The truth was, I really was curious as to where he came from and why he was here now. I sighed, "Fine."

"Okay, well I'll have to start from the beginning. And please don't interrupt me unless it's absolutely necessary." He told me.

"Fine, fine. Just talk!" I was becoming impatient.

"My father was born in England in 1929. He never told me how he became a vampire, but Dempsey never told me many things. He seduced my mother, Jacqueline, when he was staying in Paris for a time about fifteen years ago."

I interrupted, I couldn't help myself. "Wait, you're only 15 years old?!" I asked in outrage.

"Yes…why, how old are you? And what happened to no interruptions?"

Now I felt embarrassed. "I'm a little over 50. And this interruption was necessary!"

He chuckled. "Well, anyways, after my mom got pregnant with me, she asked my dad if she would live. And he promised her that he would save her, one way or another."

"Wait, hold on. Did your mom _know_ what your dad was?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, she had an idea…I'll explain more about that later. Now stop interrupting me! So, the day came when I was born. After a very scary and stressful birth, Dempsey could plainly see that my mother was dying—and fast. But, he did absolutely nothing to try and save her." He looked down. "He didn't love her. No matter how many times he said that he did, he didn't."

There were tears in my eyes. Poor Jacqueline. "So how does that relate to you being here?"

"I'm getting there," he promised. "So, Jacqueline had a sister, Veronique. They were very close. When my mom first met Dempsey, she told her sister, and between the two of them, they had basically figured out what my dad was. Then, when my mom became pregnant, her sister knew too, which didn't make my dad too happy.

"About three years later, when Veronique found out that Dempsey hadn't bothered to save my mom, she became furious. By that time, she had done her vampire research and knew about pretty much everything, including The Volturi and what they could do. So, thinking that they could somehow punish Dempsey for what he'd done, Veronique went to the Volterra and told them straight out what had happened. But, the one thing she didn't know about vampires was the only rule: keep the secret. When The Volturi saw her, they had already made up their minds to kill her. But before they did that, she had to tell them who my dad was. And that's why they then showed up to kill my dad and me."

I gasped out loud, and my mouth hung open for a short while. "Are you serious? That's why you came here? To escape _The Volturi_?" I whispered in shock. I didn't mention that this wasn't the greatest place to try and escape them, considering the many times they had visited Forks in the past.

He nodded slowly. The song had ended, though for some strange reason I didn't want Tybalt's hands to leave my waist, which was very weird. But then we saw Brendon walking towards us, and our conversation was over, for now at least. But, just before Brendon made it to us, Tybalt leaned in and whispered, "Bathroom," in my ear.

_Don't go_. I told myself. _You came to the dance with Brendon, so dance with him._

But my mouth apparently didn't listen to my brain, because I found myself saying, "Excuse me, Brendon. I'm just going to take a quick trip to the ladies room," and running off. I don't know what made me do it. I was scolding myself the whole time my legs carried me towards the restrooms out the back of the gym.

I turned the corner, looking for him, though I don't know _why_ I actually followed him. What was I _thinking_? I don't even _like_ Tybalt! I was looking around when someone was suddenly right in front of me, saying "Boo."

"Tybalt!" I shrieked, more surprised than anything. He really had startled me. "What the _hell _was that?!"

He just stood there, grinning, his blue eyes pouring into mine. "I want to show you something." He took my hand, which was surprisingly comfortable in mine.

_What are you _doing_?!_ That little voice inside my head was shrieking. _Are you _crazy_? You don't even like Tybalt!_ Which was very true, I didn't. But then why did I run off to the bathroom to find him? And why does his hand feel so good and right in mine? I felt like my brain had divided in half: one side the normal, practical side, and the other this new, crazy side. The crazy one seemed to be taking over my body, at least. _Great_, I thought to myself, _now I'm going crazy. Emmett told me this would happen someday…but I thought he was just kidding…_

Tybalt stopped. We were in a random deserted hallway in the middle of the school. "Ready?" He asked me.

"For what?" I didn't think my heartbeat could have gotten any faster.

"Just watch." He advised. He was standing about two feet away from me, when all of a sudden, he wasn't there anymore.

"Tybalt?" I called, looking around.

"I'm right here," his voice came from two feet in front of me, but he most definitely was not there.

"Right where?" I asked, completely confused.

And then something moved my hair, but I felt no wind. And then he was there again, inches from my face.

"What was _that_?" I asked, enunciating each syllable.

"I have," he stated calmly, "the power of invisibility."

I just stared at him for a long moment. I knew that half-vampires could have powers, I mean, just look at me. But the thought of someone _else_, someone outside my family having a power, well, it just seemed so foreign to me.

"So _that's_ why Dad was so stumped by the going in and out of range thing…" I mumbled to myself.

"Huh?" Tybalt asked, but I just shook my head. His face was still inches from mine…

And then he was kissing me, our lips moving together, and I was kissing him back! What was I doing?! I finally broke away from his mouth…his beautiful, luscious…

_Stop it right there!_ I told myself. _You are in love with _Jacob_!! _Jacob_! You got that?_

And then I remembered something very important. I remembered that I wasn't the only one who was in my head, and my dad now knew everything. I internally swore as I turned from Tybalt abruptly and ran towards the gym with him calling after me.

I found Brendon talking to one of his friends near the cookie table.

"Hey, sorry I took so long," I was saying when I spotted Tybalt emerge through the back doors of the gym. Luckily, Kaylee caught him before he could reach me.

"No worries. Hey, are you feeling okay? You look a little pale," Brendon commented.

I almost said, "I always look pale, idiot," but I didn't because that would be very rude. Instead, I said, "Actually, I'm feeling a little under the weather. I'll just call my mom and have her take me home…"

Brendon interrupted me. "No, no! I'll take you. It's getting late anyway. It's no problem, really." He assured me.

We made it out to his car, and I figured that if he really wanted to go back to the dance he could after he dropped me off at home. When I got in the car, I thought very clearly, "_Dad. Do NOT tell Jacob. Please, I'm begging you. Don't tell him. At least not yet, okay?_" I prayed to gawd that he heard me.

A couple minutes into the drive, Brendon took a deep breath and said, "Nessie?"

"Yes…?" I replied.

"Ireallylikeyouandifyoudon'tfeelthesamewaythat'sokaybutIjustthoughtyoushouldknow," He said the words so fast that they all slurred together.

Great. Just what I needed. As if a make out session with an insane invisible half vampire wasn't enough romance for one night.

"Brendon," I started reluctantly. I obviously couldn't tell him the truth: that a werewolf had imprinted on me and we were very happy together. At least, we were happy at the moment. So I had to lie. "I'm so sorry, but I'm still kind of getting over this guy I dated back in Alaska, so I'm not really going to be dating in the near future." There. That sounded normal enough, right?

He looked a little disappointed, but not too depressed. He nodded understandingly, and we were luckily to the house by that time.

"Thanks for the ride," I said, getting out of the car. "I had an awesome time. See you Monday!"

I walked through the front door and just burst into tears. I don't know what came over me, but I just couldn't hold them in any longer. I noticed my dad sitting on the couch, alone.

"_Did you hear everything?"_ I asked in my mind, because I don't think I could have formed words with my mouth.

He just nodded slowly and patted the seat next to him.

I sat down. "_So does everyone know now?_" I asked bitterly in my mind again.

To my surprise, he shook his head. "I didn't tell them anything, I promise you. I just told them to all go away for a little while and to not ask you any questions."

I found my voice, finally. "I'm sure Mom agreed to that in a heartbeat." I said sarcastically.

"She didn't," he agreed, "But I convinced her that it was best, and she gave in."

I noticed that all the pins in my hair were starting to become uncomfortable. I wondered where Alice was…

"Alice?" My dad said one step ahead of me. She danced down the stairs and began taking out the many bobby pins that had ended up in my hair. It felt so nice, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She finished quickly, and sat down on my other side.

She looked into my tear-stained eyes. "Nessie, are you alright?" Her voice was deep with concern.

My dad was not happy that she had broken his "no questions" rule. He made a very loud coughing noise and shot her a look.

"It's an acceptable question!" She qualified, turning back to me. "But, really, are you okay?"

I stared into her angel-like face. My lip began quivering and I shook my head. And then another flow of tears began running down my cheeks again, because, I really wasn't okay. My whole life had come crashing down over the course of an hour. I'd betrayed Jacob. He was my best friend, my boyfriend, my brother, my whole life. And I'd just ruined everything.


	11. Chapter 11: Apology

Chapter 11: Apology

It was weeks before I could tell Jacob. Everyone else in the house knew, and my dad kept telling me that it wouldn't be any easier the longer I waited. But, the truth was that _I_ wasn't ready to tell him. I was still trying to accept it myself, let alone trying to tell someone else.

Alice was the first to find out, that night it happened. Then my mom, and then Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme.

Tybalt had tried to talk to me at school, but I gave him one-word answers or less. I didn't want anything to do with him, and I really didn't want Jacob to think that anything was going on between us, because nothing was.

But, after almost a month of my parents pestering me, I finally rounded up the courage to tell Jacob.

It was Saturday afternoon, and he had just woken up from a nap, so he was at his happiest. I had asked everyone to scatter; I had to do this on my own.

"Hey, Jake?" I said nervously. "I gotta tell you something."

"Okay," He sat down on the couch next to me. "What is it?"

"I, um," My throat suddenly went dry. I swallowed hard and inhaled deeply. "I kissed Tybalt." I exhaled as I looked at his face for any sign of emotion.

His face went through many stages of emotion: first shock, then confusion, and finally, anger.

"I'm so sorry." I said sincerely. I wished that I had never even danced with Tybalt, let alone followed him near the bathrooms. "I really didn't mean to. It just happened. And I've been feeling bad about it since the moment it happened. I'm really, really sorry. Are you—"

"When did this happen?" He cut me off, his expression blank.

"At the dance," I replied in a small voice. "Are you angry with me?" I looked up at his face.

He looked back down. "Are you kidding me? I never could be angry with you, though right now half of me wishes I could be. I knew this would happen. Why did I let you go? I knew something bad would come out of it. And _him_," he spat the word, "He's going to want to stay away from me—"

"It's not your fault. I forced you to let me go. I _wanted_ to go. And I'm really really sorry to say this, but I don't know if you could really fight him." I said, but immediately wished I hadn't.

"What?" He said in a voice like ice.

"Well," I began, "He can kind of turn invisible…"

That's when Jacob walked out the front door. I didn't try to stop him. My dad came in the room a couple minutes later.

"Are you alright?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Is he terribly angry with me?" I asked him.

My dad shook his head. "No. Like he said, he can't be angry with you, it's not in his capabilities since he imprinted on you. He's mostly mad at himself, and Tybalt. He hates that Tybalt has the capability to take you away from him."

"But he _knows_ I love _him_, not Tybalt." I said. "Right?"

"Well," My dad looked wary. "Now this whole Tybalt thing is making him not-so-sure."

I buried my face in my hands. Great. Now my soul mate doesn't think I love him. What more could go wrong? I really shouldn't think that, what with the jinx and all…

"Is he ever going to come back?" I asked my dad, half of me not wanting to hear the answer.

"Well," my dad said, "He doesn't really have a choice. He can't stay away from you for long. I'd estimate a couple of days. He just needs a little time to digest."

I sighed. That made me feel a little bit better, but the pit in my stomach didn't shrink at all. I spent the rest of the weekend sulking around the house, and even Jasper didn't try to cheer me up.

When it was time for school on Monday, Jacob still hadn't come back. I tried to practice some normal facial expressions before we got to school, but I still looked completely depressed. Even the brand new outfit Alice got me looked bland with my sullen face.

Brendon, of course, noticed my obvious sadness, and asked me about it many times. I claimed it was just fatigue. He also asked where Jacob was. I told him he was sick.

Unfortunately, Tybalt caught up with me after lunch when I was on my way to Biology, alone.

"Hey," he said, easily keeping up with my power-walking.

"Hello." I said coolly, keeping my face forward.

"Where are you headed?" He asked.

"Biology."

"Wanna ditch with me?" He asked, sounding like he really hoped I said yes.

Well I hoped he enjoyed disappointment. "I don't ditch."

He snorted. "Okay, goody little two shoes. It's not like you'd get in trouble."

"That doesn't make it right. What are you going to do, anyway? Go to the grocery store with your dad?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, I never got to that part, did I?" He recalled.

"What are you talking about?"

"My dad's dead. The Volturi killed him." He whispered.

I gasped and looked at him for the first time since he began talking to me.

"Come on. I know you want to hear the rest of my story. And it's only Biology…" He tempted me.

And I _did _want to hear his story. But I couldn't do that. Not after how much I had hurt Jacob. "No. I'm going to Biology. See you later." I turned into my classroom and left him in the hall, gaping.


	12. Chapter 12: Trizzie

Chapter 12: Trizzie

I settled into my seat in the back and the bell rang shortly after.

"Ok, class!" Mr. Peterson got our attention. "Today, we'll be dissecting rats!" His eyes sparkled with excitement as the class groaned. "You'll be working with your lab partners on this one, but Miss Wolfe, you may work with Lizzie and Troy, seeing as your partner is absent." He said, noticing that I was alone at my lab table today. Lizzie, a nice, quiet girl with almond-shaped eyes, and Troy, the school's soccer star, sat across the aisle from me. I'd only actually spoken to either of them a few times, but I figured we'd be able to get along. I scooted my chair over to their table as Mr. Peterson began passing out our materials and lab packets.

"Hey guys," I said once I made it to their table. Lizzie smiled at me and Troy gave me a "Sup."

"Well, let's get started." I encouraged my group. We read the directions and dug into the rat. It was really disgusting, but luckily there was no blood involved.

We each took turns cutting and moving things around in the rat. Troy's turn came up and his job was to cut the skin with the scalpel.

He began cutting when I heard an "Oops" slip from his mouth.

"What?" I asked, but then I smelled it: fresh, human blood.

_Oh CRAP!_ I screamed in my head.

I immediately held my breath as thoughts raced through my mind. I _needed_ to get out of here.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I told my group quickly and power-walked towards Mr. Peterson.

While still holding my breath, I managed to ask Mr. Peterson to go to the bathroom, and bolted out of the room. By the time I made it to the bathroom, I was breathing heavily. I washed my hands with cool water to try and calm myself down. I took a few deep breaths and slowly walked back to class, hoping all the blood was cleaned up. I opened the door, took a whiff, and when I didn't smell anything, I walked in.

"Sorry about that, I really had to go." I lied to my group when I got back to the table.

"It's okay. The only thing you missed was Troy pricking himself with the scalpel," Lizzie rolled her eyes playfully.

"Oh, really?" I feigned surprise. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's all good." Troy said, trying not to show his embarrassment.

And that's when I saw it. The way Lizzie glanced at Troy from under her lashes, the way Troy turned red whenever he tried talking to Lizzie. They totally liked each other! But they both must be way too shy to tell the other! Aww! I _had_ to get them together. Hey, just because my love life sucked at the moment didn't mean I couldn't help other people with theirs! And there was nothing like a little matchmaking to get my mind off of what was happening in my own life. Plan Trizzie was forming in my head quickly, and was to be effective immediately!


End file.
